FREE
Week of November 17, 2022
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 95 | ISSUE 52
Getting kids into music
Voters approve free school meals program Plan will reduce tax breaks for wealthy BY ERICA BREUNLIN THE COLORADO SUN
Inside the Orchestra allows children to interact with musical instruments and ask questions to the musicians. PHOTO COURTESY OF INSIDE THE ORCHESTRA
Inside the Orchestra offers opportunities for children to be involved, ask questions BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Don’t be surprised when children driven by the lively music at an Inside the Story performance form a conga line and show the adults how it’s done. “We have had very lively kids jump up on the stage with the teaching artists,” said Shelby Mattingly, executive director of Inside
the Orchestra. Inside the Orchestra is a nonprofit organization that brings orchestra music to children in the Denver area to cultivate music appreciation and strengthen their education. Inside the Story performances fall under the nonprofit’s umbrella. Performances can combine music, dancing, acting and live storytelling, and the organization calls the show “immersive” because of its unique setup. The orchestra surrounds the children and other attendees, and the conductor faces the audience. The hope is that the kids will be so inspired by the music and the performers that they’ll
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 11
develop musical interests of their own. It seems to be working. The kids examine the instruments up close after the performance and ask questions of the musicians and other artists as their curiosity takes over. The organization recently renewed its fall Tiny Tots in-person series — designed for children 7 and younger and their families — after a three-year hiatus. It began with two 45-minute performances of “A Surprise for Rabbit” on Oct. 22. Each child at the performance SEE MUSIC, P17
Colorado public school students will have access to free school meals after voters approved Proposition FF on Nov. 8, slashing tax breaks for households that earn more than $300,000 in federal adjusted gross income starting in tax year 2023 to help pay for a new school meals program. The measure passed with more than 55% of voters approving it. The success of the measure means that all kids in public schools, no matter their family’s income, will be able to eat free school breakfasts and lunches, reflecting the critical role schools play in helping students facing food insecurity. The state’s new school meals program — the Healthy School Meals for All program — will take the place of a federal initiative that provided free meals to all kids through the first two years of the pandemic. “This is a win for our fight against childhood hunger,” said Ashley Wheeland, director of public policy for Hunger Free Colorado, a nonprofit that helps people struggling with hunger. “Many more children that need food will now have access to it with their learning, and this is something that we’ve needed for a SEE MEALS, P4
CELEBRATING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
November is Native American Heritage Month P14